Elevator.



' No. 659,406. Patonted'oct. 9, |900. w. H. mecum. ELEVTUR.

(Application led Apr. 19, 1900.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shure( L lun,

un. 659,406; Patented not. 9, |900.

l w. n. Macau".

ELEVATUR.

(Applicstion le'd Apr. 19, 1900.)

l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(Ilo Model.)

a e vwcwboz @ff/5% f kvIviirisin Y STATES ATENT .FI-iron,

ELEvA'ToR.

SPEGIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 659,406, dated October 9, 1900.

Application filed April 19, 1900.

To all whom t nca'y concern:

Be tknown that I, WILLIAM H. MECHLIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greenfield, in the county of Highland and State of Ohio, have invented certain [new and useful Improvements in Elevators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tormakeand use the same.

This invention relates to elevators, and more particularly to means for automatically opening and closing the hatches or Well-doors of hatchways or elevator-shafts as the hoist or car approaches and leaves the hatchway or landing.

The danger of leaving hatchways uncovered, as is often'done in warehouses and the like, is well understood on account not only of the liability of persons and merchandise falling through the shaft, but also because of the drafts created and the great danger in case of fire; but the inconvenience attending the use of the ordinary hand-operated doors or hatches has necessitated their abandonment.

The objects of my invention are to provide simple and inexpensive mechanism for automatically opening and closing the hatches or well-doors of elevator-shafts as the hoist or elevator-car approaches and leaves the landings, respectively, and which kmay be easily applied to ordinary hatchways or placed in ordinaryshafts with little dijculty, and, further, to provide means for holding the hatcheso or doors free or clear from both sides of the shaft or the opposite approaches to the hoist or elevator.

The invention will lirst be hereinafter more particularly described,1with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of this specification, and then pointed out in the claims at the `end of the description.

ln said drawings, in which corresponding parts in the several views are designated by like letters of reference, Figure l is a front elevation of a hoistway or elevator-shaft having the hatch or doel' operating mechanism embodying my invention applied thereto, the doors or hatches being closed and the operating mechanism being in normal position.A Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the hatches `to the shaft or hatchway.

Serial No. 13,541. (No model.)

or doors lifted from the hatch way or Well-door to permit the passage of the hoist or elevatorcar. Fig. 3 is an end View of the structure shown in Fig. 1, parts being broken away, and the operation of the hatch operating mechanism being represented in dotted lines. Fig. 4 is an end View of the structure represented in Fig. 2, parts being broken away; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged view, in vertical cross-section, of a differential drum or pulley, which constitutes a part of the hatch or door operating mechanism. y

The letters A A in thedrawings denote beams or timbers constituting a suit-able framework for the hoistway or elevator-shaft; a, the door of the shaft or well; a', a landing having the hatchway a2, and B B suitable double hatches or doors for closing said hatchway. The letters. C C denote the usual guidebeams for the hoist or elevator-car arranged at opposite sides or endsof the shaft, D a hoist or elevator-car, and e the lift-rope therefor, which may pass through'suitable notches between t-he hatcliesor doors B and over suitable overhead sheaves o'rl pulleys f f, and thence to the hoisting-drurng 011 the shaft g', the latter being suitably connected with .the hoisting mechanism or engine.

Above the landing ct I preferably provide suitable upright guide rods or beams h h at each side of the front entrance or side of the shaft or hatchway and similar uprights or to the lower bands of the slides or slide-pieces it, as at b b, by means of the arms'b bf, one of said doors being secured 'to the slides on the uprights or guides h h at the'front side or entrance tothe shaft or hatchway and the other to the slides on the uprights or guides h h' at the opposite or rear side or entrance The hatches or doors are thus adapted to be swung open on their said pivotal connections b b and to be carried, with the slides or slide-pieces i fi, up

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from the hatchway or landing to clear thel entrance thereto. The upper portions or the upper bands of the slides t' t' maybe provided with suitable projections or shoulders Z2 'Z2 to form abutments or stops to limit the rearward movement or swing of the doors or hatches on their pivots or pivotal connections b b, the said projections or shoulders Z2 t2 being slightly in advance of the pivots b l), so that the doors or hatches, if unsupported against the said projections or shoulders, will fall of their own weight and normally close the hatchway.

The doors or hatches B B may be opened or operated by means of ropes, wires, or the like, secured to the doors and passing over pulleys or other suitable supports above the hatchway and connected with the operating mechanism. Ropes k k are preferably fastened or secured at opposite ends of the hatch or door at the front side or entrance to the shaft or hatchway, and, similarly, ropes c/ 7c to the hatch or door at the opposite or rear side of the shaft or entrance to the hatchway, and said ropes k 7c and Z0 Zd may pass over pulleys Z Z and Z Z' or other suitable supports above the hatchway and at the opposite sides of the shaft, respectively, and thence, either directly or over pulleys or supports Z2 Z2, to a drum M at the side of the shaft, connected to the hatchfoperating mechanism. The pulleys Z Zand Z Z are preferably located at suitable distances above or nearly above the several pivots of the hatches or doors B B, and said pulleys may conveniently be suspended from the flooring above the hatchway, as may also the pulleys Z2 Z2, which are located at suitable points or intervals to guide the ropes Zt Zo and Zt Zt about the edges or sides of the shaft to the drum M and to prevent said ropes from passingacross the shaft or well, and thus obstructing the passage of the hoist or elevator-car. In order that the ends of the said ropes k Za and Za L which are secured to the hatches or doors may depend vertically from the pulleys Z Zand Z Z', and thus to keep them out of contact with the elevator or hoist, the said ropes k Za and Zc/ Zt" may be made to pass through suitable apertures in the upper portions of the slides or slide-pieces t' t', which may be formed in the aforementioned shoulders or projections i2 i2.

The drum M may be mounted in a hanger n or otherwise supported at one of the sides of the shaft, and the ropes Zr k and Zt" k secured to the drum, so as to wind thereon, and thus open the doors or hatches and draw them up the uprights or guide-beams Zt Zt and h h on their slides t' t' when the drum is rotated, the said rotation of the drum being accomplished by drawing upon the rope o, so as to unwind the same from the barrel of the drum. The drum is preferably formed in three parts or sections,as shown in Fig. two of which are of the same dia meterand the third of a reduced size, the part m, of smaller diameter, being included between the parts m m, of larger diameter and preferably grooved, as at m2 m2, to hold the hatch or door operating ropes Zt Zt' and Zt" 7c'. The rope o, connected tc the actuating mechanism, may be secured to the middle part or smaller drum-section fm of the drum M, Wrapping said section or part annmber of times, and the hatch-operating ropes Za 7c secured to one of the parts or drum-sections m m, and the ropes Zo' 7c' to the other of said parts or sections, so that immediately upon the rotation of the drum M, by drawing upon and unwinding the rope 0 from the part or smaller drunnsection m, the ropes Zo Zt and Zo' Zc/ will wind upon the larger sections or parts m' m and open and raise the hatches or doors, one pair of the said hatch-operating ropes, as Za, winding over and the other pair winding under the drum, asshown in Figs. 3and et.. By forming the drum M differentially, as above described, or with the smaller drum-section m for winding the ropesoand the largerdrumsections m' m for winding the ropes 7c Zo and 7e Zo', the said ropes k 7c and Zo' 7c' will of course travel a greater distance than the rope o, so that by forming the parts m and mm of the drum M of the proper diameters by only a small amount of rotation of the said drum M the hatches or doors maybe opened and raised or carried a considerable distance up the uprights or guides Zt h Zt ZL out of the way of the sides or entrances to the hatenway.

The actuating mechanism for automatically effecting the rotation of the drum M as the hoist or elevator-car approaches the hatcb way may comprise equal bars or levers p j), pivotally attached at or about their middle portions to the outer edge of one of the guide-beams or runners C or other suit-able support and pivotally connected or joined at their ends with equal bars or rods p' p', said bars pp and p' p thus forming an adjustable or rocking frame or parallelogram, together with suitable projections, as q and q', on the hoist or elevatorcar for engaging and rocking said parallelogram. The bars p p are preferably pivotally secured to the said guide-beam or runner C at suitable points, one above and the other below the hatchway a', and at suitable distances from each side of said pivots Vsaid bars p p may be inwardly curved or formed with shoulders or projections, as at p2p2,which will abut the sides of the said guidebeam C when the bars are rocked on their pivots, and thus limit the adjustability ofthe said barspp and likewise of the frame or parallelogram.

The rope o, connected to the drum M, may be secured to one side of the frame or parallelograln, preferably to one of the bars p', as at 0, said rope normally holding the side of the frame or parallelogram to which it is attached uppermost, as shown in Fig. 3, the weight of the hatches or doors B B being suficient to prevent the drum M from unwinding and letting out the rope 0, so that the bars or levers p p may assume the horizontal position represented in dotted lines in Fig.

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A tension-spring r may be secured at one end tothe frame and at the other end to the guideheam or runner C to maintain the frame or parallelogram normally in the position described, or any other suitable device may he employed for this purpose.

On the side of the hoist orelevator-car next the frame or parallelogram suitable projections or arms q and q', hereinhefore referred to, may he provided for engaging the said frame or parallelogram as the car ascends or descends and rocking or adjusting it on its pivotal supports from one to the other ol' its extreme positions. (Shown more fully in Figs. 3 and 4 in full lines.) One of said projections q (shown in the drawings as a shoulder or ridge on an arm q2, projecting from one of A the uprights dof the hoist) is preferably located at a suitable point or position on the upper part of the hoist or elevator-car to adapt it when the hoist or car ascends to abut or engage and push upwardly the lowermost end of the lower lever jp, thereby rocking the frame or parallelogram from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4, and as the hoist continues to ascend to ride or hear against the verticall rod or harp', thus maintaining the said frame or parallelogram in its last-mentioned position till the hoist is clear of the hatchway. The other projection q is likewisesuitahly located at the lower part of the hoist or car, at the opposite side of the guide-beam C, to adapt it to accomplish the same result when the hoist descends from above or through the hatchway, the said projection engaging or abutting and pushing downwardly the uppermost end of the upper. lever or harp, thus rocking the frame or parallelogram to the aforementioned position shown in nFig. l4 and as the hoist continues to descend riding or hearing against the opposite vertical bar 'or rod p to maintain the parallelogram'in said position, as in the former instance, till the hoist or elevator-car has cleared t-he hatchway.

The operation ot' vthe partsA herein'hefore described will he apparent. Normally, the hatches or doors being closed, the rope o on the drum M maintains the rocking frame or parallelogram in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3. As thehoist or elevator-car ascends toward the hatchway its upper arm or projection q pushes against or forces upward the lowermost end of the lower pivoted lever or har p and the vertical har or rod p connected therewith, thus drawing downwardly the 0pposite or upper end ol" the said lower lever p, as indicated in dotted lines-in Fig. 3, andthe opposite vertical harp', to which is secured the rope o, and as the rope o is pulled downwardly the drum is caused to rotate and wind the hatch-operating ropes k k and k k', thereby opening the doors or hatches. As

the drum M continues to rotate and the hatch-operating ropes lo and Zr.' 7c wind thereon the doors or hatches B Bswing wide open against the abutments i2 i2 on the upper parts of the slides or slide-pieces it' and are then drawn or carried with the said slides, to which they are pivoted or secured, up the uprights or guides h h and h h', thus leaving clear both sides of the shaft or entrances to the hatchway, so that access to the elevatorplatform is unobstructed. The frame or parallelogram finally assu mes the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, holding the hatches or doors open and clear of or raised from the hatchway, in which position the said frame or parallelograin is maintained till the elevatorcar-is at a suitable distance above the hatchl way by means of the arm or projection q riding or hearing against the uppermost vert-ical rod or har-2J'. (Shown inthe drawings to the right-hand side of the guide-beam C.) The lower arm or projection q will also healagainst the opposite or lowermost vertical har or rod p', (shown to the lett of the said guide-beam 0,) and when both arms or projections g and q have ridden past the upper ends of said barspp' the weight of the doors or hatches B B (assisted, if desired, by the spring r or other means) will cause them to slide down the uprights or guides h h h' h to the landing a, and drop into place and close the hatchway or shaft, thereby reversely rotating the drum M and rewinding thereon the rope o, which draws the frame or parallelogram back to its formal normal position.

When the hoist or elevator descends or aplOO proaches the hatchway from ahove,the openf ing of the hatches ordoors to permit the passage of the elevator is effected in vvthe same manner as when the hoist is ascending-by means of the lower arm orv projection q on the hoist, which pushes downwardly the uppermost end of the upper lever or har p till the frame orparallelogram again assumes the position shown in Figs. 2 and`4, and then rides against the lower (or left-hand) vertical bar or rod p to maintain the frame or parallelogram in said position. The arm or projection q will ot course ride against the opposite (orright-hand) bar p', and when the projectionsg and q' are past the lower ends of the said Vertical hars or rods p'p the doors will again descend and close the hatch, drawing the frame or parallelogram back into normal position.

The apparatus described may of course be applied tothe several floors or hatchways of an elevator-shaft, the elevator or hoist operating the hatches successively in the same manner hy means of the arms or projections q and q' on the car, which actuate the frame or parallelogram to rotate the drum M. When the doors or hatches B B are closed, they are supported by the pivots b' h' and the hatch-operating ropes le 7c and k lc', so that access may he had over the shaft or hatchway, or the hatches may be further supported by chains or the like secured to the hatches and to the slides or slide-pieces t' 't'.

. It will thus be-apparent that my invention provides a simple and eiiicient means for automatically actuating the hatches or doors of hatchways or elevator-shafts so as to open and lift-the hatches out of the way as the hoist or elevator-car approaches the hatchway or landing and to drop the hatches into position and close them again after the hoist or elevator has passed the hatchway or landing, either ascending or descending, whereby the hatchways or shafts in warehouses or other buildings may be kept covered and the dangers incident to open shafts avoided without the inconvenience attending the use of the ordinary hand-operated doors or hatches or the obstructing of one or more of the sides or entrances to the hatchway and elevatorplatform by the open doors or hatches. The apparatus is simple and may be applied with little difiiiculty or expense to the several hatchways of any ordinary elevator-shaft or hoistway.

It will be understood, of course, that the invention may be susceptible of various modifications and may be applied to automaticallyoperating well-doors of different types than that herein shown. Thus the differential drum M may be dispensed with and othersuitable means substituted therefor; but it is preferably employed to adapt the hatches to be lifted a suitable distance above the hatchway with only a small amount of travel of the rope o, which obviates the necessity of making the levers or arms p p of great length.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In combination with the elevator-shaft having suitably-hinged doorsfor closing the hatchway, mechanism adapted to be actuated by the moving car for opening said doors ascending and descending, comprising a pair of rocking levers with parallel vertical bars or rods pivotally con uecting the free ends thereof, iiexible connections between one of said rocking levers and said doors for opening the latter when the levers are rocked, so as to permit the car to pass, and means carried by the car for rocking said levers when moving up or down; substantially as described.

2. In combination with the elevator-shaft having suitably-hinged doors for closing the hatchway or opening therein, said doors being adapted to slide vertically when opened, mechanism for opening and simultaneously raising said doors above the hatehway to clear the entrance thereto as the car ascends or descends and for returning the doors to their normal positions and closing them after the passage of the car, mechanism for automatically act-uating said door opening and raising mechanism by the passage of the car; substantially as described.

3. ln combination with the elevator-shaft having suitably-hinged doors for closing the opening or hatchway therein, said doors being adapted to slide vertically when opened, mechanism for opening and simultaneously raising said doors above the hatchway to clear the entrance thereto as the car ascends or descends and for returning the doors to their normal positions and closing them after the passage of the car, mechanism for automatically actuating'said door opening and raisingl mechanism comprising a pair of rocking levers having vertically-disposed rising and falling parallel bars or rods pivotally connecting their free ends, and projections carried by the car for rocking said levers and thereby actuating said door-opening mechanis'm as the car ascends or descends; substantially as described.

4. In combination with the elevator-car having suitable engaging means thereon for engaging door-actuating mechanism at the hatchway as the car ascends or descends, doors for closing the hatchway hinged and slidably arranged within the shaft, means for opening and raising said doors as the car ascends or descends, and mechanism for automatically actuating said door opening and f raising means by contact with the engaging means carried by the car whether ascending or descending; said automatically-actuated mechanism being adapted to maintain said doors in a raised position until the car has passed and then to permit their automatic return to and closing of the hatchway; substantially as described.

i 5. In combination with the car arranged to ascend and descend an elevator-shaft, a pair of centrally-pivoted rocking levers extending transversely of the shaft, one above and the other below the hatchway, vertically-disposed rods or bars pivotally connecting the free ends of said levers,hinged doors covering the hatchway slidably attached to guides upon the shaft, flexible connections between said doors and the parallelogram formed by said levers and vertical bars, for opening and raising the doors when said levers are rocked, and means carried by the car for engaging first the nearest lever and then the adjacent vertical bar as the car ascends or descends, whereby the doors are opened, raised and held in a raised position until the car has passed the landing, and then returned to normal position closing the hatchway; substantially as described.

6. In combination with the car arranged to ascend and descend an elevator-shaft, a pair of centrally-pi voted rocking levers extending transversely of the shaft, one above and the other below the hatchway, vertically-disposed rods or bars pivotally connecting the free ends of said levers,hin ged doors covering the hatchway slidably attached to guides upon the shaft, flexible cords or wires connecting said doors over suitable rollers or pulleys with the parallelogram formed by said levers and vertical bars, for opening and raising the doors when said levers are rocked, and means carried by the car for engaging irst the nearest lever and then the adjacent vertical bar as the car ascends or descends, whereby the doors are opened, raised and held in a raised IOO IIO

position until the car has passed the landing,-

and then returned to normal position closing the halchway; substantially as described.

7. In combination with the elevator-shaft havin g suitable well-doors, mechanism adapt- Ded to be actuated by the moving car for openmechauism'adapted to be actuated by the moving car for raisingl said doors as the car ascends or descends, and for lowering them after the passage of the car, said mechanism comprisingr a pair of rocking levers with parallel vertical bars pivotally connecting the free ends thereof, flexible connections between one of said rocking levers and said doors for raising or lowering the latter when the levers are rocked, and means carried by the car for rocking said levers when moving up ordown; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM H. MEOHLIN.

Witnesses:

OBR MAY, H. I-I. MECHLIN. 

